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IU Summer REU Research Projects at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility/Nuclear Theory Center
Here are a few examples of potential REU research projects based at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility/Nuclear Theory Center. Details of projects from previous years are also available.
Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) Studies of Nanostructured Materials (Prof.
Baxter, Physics and IUCF)
SANS is a technique that probes structure of materials over
length scales from 1 to 100nm. It is particularly well-suited to hydrogenous systems such as
surfactant or polymer blends, hydrogen-storage materials, and complex fluids. The student
will use the new SANS instrument at LENS in collaboration with faculty members in physics,
chemistry, and geology who are interested in these systems and have suitable candidate
materials ready. Prof. Baxter has supervised one REU student in the past three years.
A High Temperature Ultracold Neutron Source (Prof. Chen-Yu Liu, IUCF)
A gas chamber filled with hydrogen or deuterium gas can be used
to produce ultracold neutrons. We will be developing this high
temperature (~25K) source using cold neutrons from the Low Energy
Neutron Source (LENS) at the cyclotron facility.
Neutron Spin Manipulation for the LENS Neutron Spin Echo Spectrometer
(Prof. Snow, IUCF)
In this project the student will use a polarized neutron beam from the LENS neutron source at IUCF to participate in the construction and measurement of the performance of neutron spin flippers. The spin flippers will work on the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance as applied to the moving polarized beam. Maintenance of the resonance will require certain fields in the polarizer to be ramped in phase with the pulsed neutron source. The student will learn about NMR, neutron optics, time-of-flight spectroscopy, RF electronics, and neutron scattering. Professor Snow has supervised 6 undergraduate students in previous REU programs at IUCF.
Recent project: USB Control of Multiplexed Shaper Electronic for a Segmented Silicon Array (with Prof. Romualdo DeSouza, Nuclear Chemistry): see the poster abstract for the 2005 APS-DNP meeting at Maui.
We plan to measure the magnetic properties of gadolinium gallium garnet
samples below 1 Kelvin using a dilution refrigerator. This sample
will be the kernel of an experiment searching for the electric dipole
moment of the electron.
Testing the Standard Model of Particles and Forces using Neutron
Decay (Dr. Ed Stephenson, IUCF)
The aCORN Collaboration is developing an experiment to measure
"little a", the angle correlation between the electron and the
anti-neutrino that are produced in the decay of a free neutron,
a parameter that is a crucial test of our present knowledge
of particles and their properties. This summer we will be
constructing and commissioning a neutron beam line at the Low
Energy Neutron Source, a project that will involve measuring
the spectrum and profile of the cold neutrons and engineering a
way to guide the colder ones into the experimental setup. We
also expect to begin assembly of the detector system to observe
the neutron decay.
Tracking Detectors for FINeSE, the Fermilab Intense Neutrino Scattering Initiative (Prof. Tayloe, IUCF)
The student will work with Prof. Tayloe on the design, construction, and evaluation of neutrino tracking modules for FINeSE, a neutrino scattering initiative that is developing a proposal for a 10 ton detector located 100 meters from the new Booster neutrino source. The student will develop skills related to the design, construction, calibration, and evaluation of tracking capabilities for state-of-the-art neutrino detectors. The project will be based at IUCF and will make use of a new 200-MeV proton beam line configured for the evaluation of new detector concepts.
Recent project: A 3D Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector: see the poster abstract for the 2005 APS-DNP meeting in Maui.
Exotic Forms of Very Dense Matter and Neutron Stars (Prof. Horowitz, IUCF&NTC)
The student will numerically solve the equations of General Relativity for the structure of a neutron star given different theoretical models for the pressure versus density of very dense neutron-rich matter, strange-quark matter and/or a color superconductor. Professor Horowitz has previously supervised 5 REU students working on theoretical projects.
Studies of Quark Pair Creation in the Gluon Field (Prof. Szczepaniak, IUCF&NTC)
The student will study properties of quark-gluon interactions in Quantum
Chromodynamics formulated as a many-body, Hamiltonian system with physical degrees of
freedom. The student will investigate the distribution of energy density in presence of quark
and antiquark sources and its connection with phenomenological models of hadrons.
Professor Szczepaniak has previously supervised 7 REU students working on theoretical
projects in this area.
Technical Developments for the Solar Proton Radiobiology Institute (Research
Coordinator, Susan Klein, IUCF)
The Solar Proton Radiobiology Institute is a
collaboration of life science researchers working at the new IUCF ground-based testing
facility for the simulation of solar storm radiation and the impact of solar storms on humans
suffering from the physiological effects of long term low gravity environments. Students will
help to develop beam-monitoring systems, beam shaping systems, and 3D dosimetry
techniques. Susan Klein (Ph.D, Biophysics) has supervised 8 undergraduates involved in
summer research projects related to the medical physics program at IUCF.
Development of a Scintillating Screen Beam Profile Monitor
(Research Coordinator Barbara von Przewoski, IUCF)
The student will work on the development of new scintillating-screen beam profile monitors for the two new beamlines installed at IUCF for the Radiation Effects Research Program (RERP). The student will gain experience with the detection of low-level light with CCD cameras, will develop an algorithm to determine the profile of the 100 to 200-MeV proton beam, and will be involved in calibration experiments to determine the uniformity of the spread-out beam. As a research staff member at IUCF, Barbara von Przewoski (Ph.D, Nuclear Physics) has worked for the last decade with many faculty, postdocs and graduate students on research projects using the IU Cooler Storage Ring. Since the shutdown of the Cooler, she has redirected her responsibilities to include the coordination and operation of the new RERP beam lines at IUCF.
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